There's a micro-USB port and 3.5mm jack on the bottom, a micro-SIM tray on the left and a mic up top. The buttons and camera rest on a small hump that rises just above the rest of the chassis.īecause all of the buttons are on the back of the phone, the sides look pretty clean.
Just above that, you'll find the 13-megapixel camera with flash on one side and infrared on the other. The G Flex uses the same rear buttons as we've seen on the G2 near the top, but this time the power button doubles as an LED notification light. It's also a huge dust magnet: It was nearly impossible to completely clean the phone, no matter how hard we tried. The glossy back cover comes with a brushed-metal look and is a little slippery, but as odd as it sounds, we don't mind it so much on the G Flex (more on that in a moment). LG's also thrown in a flexible 3,500mAh battery - we're told that the G Flex couldn't exist without being able to curve the battery - which employs a stack-and-folding technique that's designed to offer more stability and better performance. Also, the curves allow for more sound to reflect off of other surfaces, so speaker volume gets a boost. There's certainly a coolness factor when playing with a curved phone, but what benefit does it really add to your overall user experience? The phone's flexibility, which we'll discuss shortly, protects the device from external forces its banana shape means the mic is closer to your mouth than it would be otherwise.
We agree that it's one of the most pleasant handsets you can put up to the side of your head, although this unfortunately means it's incredibly uncomfortable when you put it in your pants pocket - especially if you're wearing tighter-fitting jeans. In particular, LG believes this is the most comfortable fit for most human faces. LG tells us that the G Flex has an "optimized curvature" of 700mm, a decision the company came to after testing more than 300 designs, each with varying curves. Since the G Flex arcs from top to bottom, however, it feels a little more awkward than it would if the phone were simply flat my index finger frequently slips off the edge because the phone curves up and makes the sides harder to reach. The Samsung Galaxy Round, which arcs from left to right, was much more comfortable than the Note 3 because its curves allow the phone to rest naturally in the hand. That said, curves can bring a phone's ergonomics to another level. Of course, they do curve inward toward the bottom. The sides are flat near the top, providing a place to rest your fingertips. Both devices are also more than an ounce heavier than the 6.24-ounce Flex, making LG's handset feel comfortable by comparison.
The Lumia 1520 is just as thick as the Flex, but quite a bit taller and wider even the 5.9-inch HTC One Max is taller and wider (and a great deal thicker). Still, it's actually a tad smaller than most other 6-inch handsets. well, big? At 160.5 x 81.6 x 8.7mm, the G Flex, which features a 6-inch display, could be considered large even compared to the LG G2 or the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Perhaps it's appropriate, then, that LG's inaugural device is. If that's the case, we're witnessing the beginning of something big. Even though there are only two curved smartphones right now, LG predicts the market for curved displays will grow to as much as $2.5 billion by 2018.